04 June 2018

Last week was insanely crazy with work. I had editing deadlines and writing deadlines all piled up on each other. But I still managed to finish five books and make progress on a sixth.

How
did I do that? Mr. BFR was off fishing with his friends for the week.
So I had all the time to myself. I read at all my meals, never turned on
the TV, and had an audiobook on speakers whenever I could.

I'm happy he's back home, but I was also happy to get in so much reading time. Here's what I read.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, Books 1–2, edited by Fancesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli
(Listening Library; 6 hr, 59 min, June 19). Put this audiobook (sold in
two parts on Audible) on your reading list. Buy it for the young people
in your life. Listen to it yourself. As the subtitle says, this is a
collection of "200 Tales of Extraordinary Women," and the stories are
inspiring, moving, and empowering. Forget the target audience of middle
grade girls. Rebel Girls is for everyone: all ages, all genders.
The stories are short, really short—but each is a biography of a rebel
woman from ancient history to the current century. Some of the people
everyone's heard of, such as Jane Austen, Marie Curie, Qui Jin, Sappho,
and Frida Kahlo. Others were totally new to me (though maybe you'll
recognize the names): Ameenah Gurib-Fakim (president &
scientist), Wang Zhenyi (astronomer), Maya Gabeira (surfer), Grace
O'Malley (pirate), and Eufrosina Cruz (activist and politician). Each
volume contains the stories of 100 women and girls, arranged
alphabetically and spanning the world. This is not a Euro-centric
collection, and the women profiled excelled at politics, sports,
science, cultural change, the arts, and more. The overriding message is
that girls can dream of doing whatever they want: they can be smart,
brave, and strong and if you don't believe it, here are 200 true-life
stories to prove it. I am recommending, nay insisting, that you listen
to Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls because the two volumes are
brilliantly read by a cast of fantastic audio performers, among them
Mozhan Marnò, Janeane Garofalo, Esperanza Spalding, Ashley Judd, Alicia
Keys, and Esperanza Spalding. My full audiobook review will be available
at AudioFile magazine, but let me assure you there are no weak links in
the performances or the stories. (copy for a freelance assignment)

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand
(Little, Brown, June 19): If it's summer, it's time for a new
Hilderbrand novel. I can't say I've read all 21 of Hilderbrand's books,
but I can say I've never been disappointed. This year's outing combines
all the expected Nantucket details, great characters, up-to-date plot,
and good food with a murder mystery. Just days after the island is
recovering from the Fourth of July celebrations and tourists, the very
wealthy Garrison-Winburys are hosting their son's wedding. Greer has
managed the entire event (with the help of the island's best wedding
planner and caterers) because her future daughter-in-law, Celeste Otis,
is completely focused on her mother, who is battling end-stage cancer.
There are delicious subplots involving secret affairs, a social media
influencer who slept with her ex-boss, an airport security agent looking
for love, an antiques dealer involved in fraud, and a famous author
facing her first rejection. Everyone seems to be hiding something, and
the cops are having a hard time figuring out the sequence of events that
ended in the death of the maid of honor in the dark hours after the
rehearsal dinner. This smart, sharp story is one of the must-read books
of the summer. I listened to the unabridged audiobook (Hachette Audio; 12 hr, 8 min) read by Erin Bennett.
She did a fantastic job with the accents, pacing, and
characterizations. I was captivated by her unforced expressiveness and
easy-to-listen to voice. Get out your beach towel, pour yourself some
expensive rum, put in your earbuds, and get ready for a trip to
Nantucket. (audiobook copy provided by the publisher)

Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne (HMH Books for Young Readers, May 1): I love classic retellings and I love how Donne reimagined Jane Eyre
as a futuristic, space age story. Earth is in the grips of an Ice Age,
but the lucky humans are safe in space ships, orbiting the planet until
it's safe to return to ground. Stella Ainsley was sent to live on an
orphan ship after being rejected by her rich aunt. Despite becoming both
a teacher and an accomplished engineer, she wants more out of life. So
when offered a job as governess on a privately owned ship, the Rochester, she accepts, ignoring rumors that the ship is haunted. From there, the plot riffs on the main plot points of Jane Eyre,
keeping all the familiar parts of the story—for example, Aunt Reed, a
crew member named Poole, a secretive boss, and laughter in the night—but
setting them on a space ship with cool technology. Stella is pretty
kickass and doesn't let her heart get in the way of doing what she knows
is right for humanity, herself, and her friends. I especially like the
fact that Donne didn't hesitate to dispense with some of the original
story arcs, thus keeping the story moving forward to a satisfying
ending. If you haven't read Jane Eyre, you would still enjoy Brightly Burning, but a lot of the fun for me was recognizing characters and events from the classic. (review copy provided by the publisher)

A People's History of the Vampire Uprising by Raymond A. Villareal
(Mulholland, June 5): Sometime in the near future a CDC virology
researcher is sent to Arizona to investigate a suspicious death, but
when Lauren arrives at the morgue, she's told the body has been stolen.
Officials, however, can show her the body of another person who seemed
to die under similar circumstances. Later that night, she's told the
body got up and walked away. That day is forever known as Day 1 of the
Nogales organic blood illness (NOBI). The story of what happens next is
told a series of reports, newspaper articles, FBI documents, diaries,
and interviews. The format is slightly derivative (see Mira Grant's
Newsflesh trilogy or Sylvain Neuvel's Themis Files), but plot itself is
unique, and the different perspectives on the vampire phenomenon are
well thought out. For example, if people were infected by a virus that
turned them into vampires, would they have rights under various
disability laws? What if those people asked to be turned into vampires?
Everyone has opinions on this and all kinds of other issues and
complications caused by the rise of the vampires (called Gloamings in
the book), including Hollywood, the Vatican, and Washington, DC.
Meanwhile, Lauren and her team are interested in trying to isolate the
virus and perhaps find a cure, and those acts are also considered
controversial. A People's History of the Vampire Uprising is a fun addition to the vampire genre. The unabridged audiobook
(Hachette Audio, 13 hr, 26 min) is read by 10 narrators, including Christine Lakin,
Robert Petkoff, and Karissa Vacker. I've grown quite fond of full-cast
productions, especially when everyone does a good job. The expressive
and well-matched performances added to my overall enjoyment of the
story. (print and audiobook copies provided by the publisher)

The City on the Other Side by Mairghread Scott, illustrated by Robin Robinson
(First Second, April 24): Isabel lives in San Francisco with her
high-society mother, who is more concerned with her own life than that
of her daughter's. If it weren't for the household staff, Isabel would
be left totally alone. When she is taken to live with her artist father
for the summer, Isabel is even more isolated. Her dad has no household
staff and spends all his time in his studio. One day when playing in the
woods, she finds a fay who has crossed the veil into the human world.
As Isabel touches him she is transported to an alternate San Francisco,
where two fairy factions are at war. Before the fay dies, he gives
Isabel the power to bring peace, if only she can find the rightful
prince and heir to the throne. With the help of some new friends, she
sets out to find the prince. The City on the Other Side is a fun
middle grade comic about a lonely girl who finds her courage and learns
to make friends. There's plenty of action as she escapes the bad guys
and figures out who is trustworthy and who isn't. The illustrations
clearly show the action and the characters' emotions, and the fanciful
creatures, including a delightful friendly mushroom, are unique and well
rendered. Recommended for younger readers who like adventure and
fantasy. (copy provided by the publisher)

19
comments:

Sometimes it's so nice to have some time to yourself! Glad you got so much reading done!I toyed with buy Rebel Girls for my daughter for Xmas last year, but she was only 4, so I thought I'd wait till she was a little older and can appreciate the stories a bit more.

I cannot keep up with you! Every time I read your post, more goes on my to-read list.

I bought the Rebel Girls book as part of their kickstarter and gave them out to all the kids in the family as well as my son’s school. This is exactly the kind of role model stories we should be reading to our children the moment they will sit and listen.

Wow! You did get a lot of reading in last week. Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls sounds truly amazing. I'll eventually get it for both my granddaughters, but at 2 & 5, I think I'll need to wait a few years. In the meantime, I should listen myself.

Nice to have some uninterrupted reading time. I totally understand. My husband is in AZ for a few days on a golf trip. I miss him, but I'm glad he's well enough to go and it gives me a bit more reading time as well as watching a few old movies. I've read several of Elin Hilderbrand's books, but I don't think I knew this one had a mystery. Will definitely need to pick it up.

Oooh...I want to read/listen to Brightly Burning! I like sci fi anyway, but I love Jane Eyre and just reread it last summer. Sounds great!

And The City on the Other Side reminded me that I didn't get the First Second catalogs this spring like I usually do - I need to contact them because I am missing my graphic novel fix!

Oh, and I love my husband, but alone weeks are the BEST! Good for you for leaving the TV off, too. My husband was away last week...but my two sons were home for college, so no quiet time and the TV on all the time! lol

Ooh what a reading week! I think Brightly Burning sounds good (and I've seen a good review of it) and People's History sounds super interesting as well. Good Night Stories sounds like it would be a great gift as well, thanks for sharing it.

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I'm a freelance book editor, reviewer, and journalist blogging as Beth Fish. On these pages, you'll find book reviews, book features, and other bookish content. I like to spotlight my favorite imprints and I'm a long-time audiobook lover. (I was the Audio Publishers Association's 2016 Audiobook Blogger of the Year!) Each Saturday I host my popular Weekend Cooking feature. Don't forget to look for my weekly photograph. You can find me on social media as @BethFishReads. Publicists, publishers, authors: please see my review policy. NB: I did not work on any book mentioned on this site.

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